No matter what next year brings

By Jessica Brodie

I’ve been hearing it a lot: “I can’t wait for this year to be over. I’m ready for 2021!”

It’s no secret why. From COVID to the elections, this year has been hard. People are tired of wearing masks, tired of the strife and division, tired of it all. A fresh year looms, bringing a promise of a new start and a hope that maybe, just maybe, things will be better. I’ve thought this myself.

But driving with my almost-13-year-old the other day, she offered a different perspective.

“I don’t know why everyone’s so eager to get this year over and done with,” she said. “I’m kind of worried next year will be even worse.”

Ouch. Talk about a reality check. The proverbial wind left my proverbial sails as I gripped the steering wheel and realized how much I had been counting on a better future, a brighter 2021.

But we are not promised tomorrow.

James 4:13-14 tells us, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (NIV).

And Proverbs 27:1 says, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”

We have today. Right now. And it is beautiful, for we have breath! We have God. We have hope and secure knowledge of an eternal salvation in heaven when this life is over.

“Let us rejoice today and be glad,” Psalm 118:24b reminds us.

Wherever you are right now, sickness or health, grief or abundance, pause in the now. Lift your heart to the Lord.

As much as this year has brought difficulty, it’s also brought joy. Next year might be better or worse. The pandemic might fizzle entirely, or we might find ourselves knee-deep in the next frightening health concern. Whatever life brings, just remember: You are God’s precious child. You are a citizen of heaven.

And you are loved beyond measure.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, my friends. We are all in this together, brothers and sisters, all one in Christ Jesus.